{"id":213109,"date":"2022-01-09T16:05:56","date_gmt":"2022-01-09T14:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/why-reconciliation-agreement-between-germany-and-namibia-has-hit-the-buffers\/"},"modified":"2022-01-09T16:05:56","modified_gmt":"2022-01-09T14:05:56","slug":"why-reconciliation-agreement-between-germany-and-namibia-has-hit-the-buffers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/why-reconciliation-agreement-between-germany-and-namibia-has-hit-the-buffers\/","title":{"rendered":"Why reconciliation agreement between Germany and Namibia has hit the buffers"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

In mid-2015 the German Foreign Ministry admitted<\/a> that the war the country had waged against the local communities of the Ovaherero and Nama (and the Damara and San) between 1904 and 1908 in German South West Africa (now Namibia) was a genocide. <\/p>\n

Since then bilateral negotiations with the Namibian government have taken place<\/a> to find ways to come to terms with this horrific chapter of the shared colonial past. The declared aim was to seek reconciliation. <\/p>\n

In mid-May 2021 the special envoys of Germany and Namibia initialled a joint declaration<\/a>. While ratification by the foreign ministers was anticipated within weeks, this remains a pending affair. <\/p>\n

Considering the declaration\u2019s flaws, this should not come as a surprise.<\/p>\n

The declaration avoided<\/a> far-reaching precedence. The genocide was recognised in moral and political, but not legal terms. As a result, reparations were not acknowledged as a consequence of the admission. It has therefore been widely criticised<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights it is a \u201clost opportunity\u201d<\/a>, since it failed to meet the standards of codified international law norms. <\/p>\n

That the \u201creconciliation agreement\u201d will be published as a mere joint declaration speaks volumes. It reflects the fact that reconciliation between the people of the two countries \u2013 but also within Namibia \u2013 is further away than before. But one cannot admit to the degree of atrocities committed with their far reaching demographic, material and traumatic consequences for the descendants of the survivors without seeking direct reconciliation with these. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s gone wrong<\/h2>\n

The preceding negotiation process disregarded international participation rights based both in treaties and customary international law. Critics bemoaned, among other things, the fact that both governments were \u201cseeking forgiveness without listening to descendants\u201d<\/a> and with no reference to the return of land to the dispossessed as part of restitutive justice.<\/p>\n

The declaration avoids the term \u201creparations\u201d. It allocates a total amount of 1.05 billion Euro (US$1.18 billion) over a period of 30 years for development projects to Namibian regions with the descendants of the genocide victims. About the same amount as German development cooperation has spent in the 30 years since Namibia\u2019s Independence.<\/p>\n

Another 50 million Euro (US$56 million) \u201cwill be dedicated to the projects on reconciliation, remembrance, research and education\u201d over the same period. <\/p>\n

This is a pittance. Nevertheless the declaration stresses that<\/p>\n

\n

these amounts \u2026 settle all financial aspects of the issues relating to the past.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For many, such meagre material recognition adds insult to injury<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The main agencies of the descendants, political opposition parties and leading members of the governing South West Africa People\u2019s Organisation (SWAPO) did not waste any time to manifest their disagreement. The opening debate in the National Assembly in early June ended in turmoil. In an unprecedented form of protest, hundreds of demonstrators joined by MPs stormed the fenced in area outside Parliament to voice their frustration over the \u201cbetrayal\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For them the motto is: \u201cNothing about us without us.\u201d <\/p>\n

This reflects article 18<\/a> in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People which has been signed by both countries. It states:<\/p>\n

\n

Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters
\nwhich would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Due to the pandemic-related lockdown, the parliamentary debate was postponed. Opening in late September 2021, it lasted until the end of the parliamentary sessions on 1 December. <\/p>\n

Numerous speakers from all parties expressed concerns, criticism and rejections regarding the shortcomings. In a entirely new form of unity, they were condemning the declaration as insufficient.<\/p>\n

MacHenry Venaani, leader of the official opposition Popular Democratic Movement, lambasted<\/a> the agreed forms of compensation for the crimes committed as, \u201cA flagrant display of arrogance by the German government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bernadus Swartbooi, leader of the Landless People\u2019s Movement, the second
\nbiggest opposition party, concluded with reference to the exclusion of the Ovaherero and Nama in the negotiations as the most affected indigenous communities \u201cthat this nation-state does not belong to all\u201d. <\/p>\n

SWAPO MPs voiced their frustration too. Minister Tom Alweendo
\nwas concerned<\/a> about the
\ngrowing divisions along ethnic lines as well as the government and opposition parties: <\/p>\n

\n

I am troubled by how the conversation has gone thus far. It is now so apparent that the debate has become so divisive. We call each other names. We refer to each other as puppets and sell-outs \u2026 I am afraid that should we continue with this path, then the legacy left by the divide and rule philosophy will continue to flourish.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The parliamentary debate closed without any decision taken. Government announced<\/a> that taking into consideration the contributions, it would seek further negotiations with the German side.<\/p>\n

No end in sight<\/h2>\n

Once an improved agreement was ratified, MPs were reassured that it would be submitted<\/a> to the Namibian Parliament for acceptance.<\/p>\n

In October the German special envoy Ruprecht Polenz confirmed in an interview<\/a>
\nthat the declaration would not be renegotiated. <\/p>\n

However, the new German government in office since early December stresses in its coalition agreement the commitment<\/a> to pursue reconciliation with Namibia as an \u201cindispensable task\u201d. <\/p>\n

It remains to be seen if a foreign minister from the Green Party will be willing and able to find a way out of the impasse.<\/p>\n

Finally, even if renegotiations would be a viable option, the major challenge lies in the inclusion of the communities in Namibia and the diaspora who continue to be most affected by the violent past. It points to the limitations of government-to-government negotiations as long as they don\u2019t adequately recognise those who mainly bear the trauma and consequences of the genocide.<\/p>\n

According to the joint declaration:<\/p>\n

\n

Germany apologises and bows before the descendants of the victims \u2026 The
\nNamibian Government and people accept Germany\u2019s apology and believe that it
\npaves the way to a lasting mutual understanding and the consolidation of a special relationship between the two nations.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Without the descendants of the genocide survivors substantially involved and willing to reconcile, this remains as patronising and paternalistic as colonialism was. It underlines the continued asymmetries. There is a long way to reconciliation.<\/p>\n

The question the late Jewish historian Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi once posed in his book<\/a> Zakhor \u2013 Jewish History and Jewish Memory remains valid also for this case:<\/p>\n

\n

Is it possible that the antonym of \u2018forgetting\u2019 is not \u2018remembering,\u2019 but justice?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Source: The Conversation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In mid-2015 the German Foreign Ministry admitted that the war the country had waged against the local communities of the Ovaherero and Nama (and the Damara and San) between 1904 and 1908 in German South West Africa (now Namibia) was a genocide. Since then bilateral negotiations with the Namibian government have taken place to find […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":213110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-213109","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa-news-2","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/why-reconciliation-agreement-between-germany-and-namibia-has-hit-the-buffers.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}